(19)
(11) EP 0 849 574 A3

(12) EUROPEAN PATENT APPLICATION

(88) Date of publication A3:
01.07.1998 Bulletin 1998/27

(43) Date of publication A2:
24.06.1998 Bulletin 1998/26

(21) Application number: 97309241.4

(22) Date of filing: 18.11.1997
(51) International Patent Classification (IPC)6: G01H 1/14
(84) Designated Contracting States:
AT BE CH DE DK ES FI FR GB GR IE IT LI LU MC NL PT SE
Designated Extension States:
AL LT LV RO SI

(30) Priority: 22.11.1996 US 754420

(71) Applicant: XEROX CORPORATION
Rochester, New York 14644 (US)

(72) Inventors:
  • Peeters, Eric
    Mountain View, California 94041 (US)
  • Kubby, Joel A.
    Rochester, NY 14622 (US)
  • Hubble III, Fred F.
    Rochester, NY 14617 (US)
  • Wallace, Stanley, J.
    Victor, NY 14564 (US)
  • Werner Jr., Alan J.
    Rochester, NY 14620 (US)
  • Vitturro, R.Enrique
    Rochester, NY 14618 (US)

(74) Representative: Johnson, Reginald George et al
Rank Xerox Ltd Patent Department Parkway
Marlow Buckinghamshire SL7 1YL
Marlow Buckinghamshire SL7 1YL (GB)

   


(54) Vibration sensors for printer diagnostics


(57) A printer system with a vibration sensor for failure detection and prognosis includes an image forming unit such as a xerographic, laser, or ink jet printer module. Multiple vibration sensors are distributed throughout the image forming unit to measure vibration frequencies, permitting improved error diagnostics. To provide a vibration frequency spectrum, each vibration sensor has a substrate (31), a plurality of paired beams (32) extending from the substrate (31), with at least one paired beam sized to have a first resonant frequency mode, and at least one other paired beam sized to have a second resonant frequency mode. Beam movement sensors such as strain gauges (34) are attached to each beam to detect resonant beam oscillation, and a signal analysis unit (36) is electrically connected to the beam movement sensors (34) to provide a digital vibration frequency signature in response to resonant beam oscillation.






Search report